10-55am
WOW! That was the only word I can find when I read the results of a survey funded by someone described as the world’s “most generous person”. I have written before about whether you need a lot of money to be happy. After all there are a lot of unhappy rich people who just couldn’t find peace on this earth…people like Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston – despite fame and fortune, they were unhappy.
Yesterday I saw a quote on FB that got me thinking. I googled “unhappy rich people” and found a survey funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It was called “Joys and Dilemma of Wealth” and it looked at the wealth and fulfillment levels of 160 households, 120 of which had fortunes of $25 million or more. That’s about R250 million. You can read the whole article here…provides good sermon material!
In a sentence, this was the result:
Despite great wealth, many seem miserable.
Poverty is a miserable state. Not having enough money to live on is not easy and also results in a great deal of misery, but it seems that money does not buy as much happiness as people think it will. Dreams of lots of financial wealth melting away all your problems is a fallacy. Yes, it may melt away some of your problems, BUT those problems are replaced with different problems. The survey found that the uber rich are hesitant to complain about anything for fear of sounding ungrateful. They are naturally concerned about raising children who are selfish brats and they are constantly feeling they need to live up to others expectations. After all, if you invited someone massively wealthy to your birthday party and they came, you’d expect them to give you more than a R100 gift voucher. In fact you would be a bit disappointed if they gave you a R120 000 car, when you know they could easily afford to give you a R500 000 car. How do they know people want to befriend them for them and not for their money or status? Where does it end? And that’s why when I saw this picture on Facebook yesterday, it struck a chord with me…
It is not a recent problem. From the beginning of time, there have been differences in the abilities, income & appearances of people. The Bible holds the answer to how we should respond. It’s a process that doesn’t happen overnight. It’s an exercise we continue working on. I am on my journey to be always grateful, to not want more, to be satisfied with less, to live life humbly, to appreciate each moment, to be an ‘eternity-thinker.’
Paul in Philippians 4:10-13 gives us the absolute answer to this dilemma:
” I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
It’s a learning process of continually re-evaluating, being appreciative of what we have, looking at the eternal value of each part of our lives. Our true wealth lies in that which will be in eternity. We cannot take anything of a physical nature with us… money, cars, clothes, houses, jewellery all stay behind. 200 years from now, I will be surrounded by people! So let that be our focus this side of heaven!
Onward!
God bless you loads!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂